Disgustedorite's Gem Anatomy Headcanon
Disgustedorite's Gem Anatomy Headcanon is a detailed headcanon created by Disgustedorite to explain the physical attributes of Gems. It is based entirely on observations of canon, with a few personal theories to fill in the gaps. Introduction Gems may be shapeshifting beings with bodies made of light projected from a magical gemstone, but they appear to be more than just shapes put together into a humanoid form to make cool designs. There is a consistency between the forms and gemstones of all different kinds of Gems--a sort of consistent anatomy for the species beyond just humanoid holograms that's too prominent to ignore. This article will thoroughly describe and explain every aspect of Gem anatomy to the best of my ability. The Gemstone The true body of the Gem, the gemstone functions as the Gem's brain and as the projector for the Gem's physical form. The size of the gemstone in relation to the physical form does not appear to affect intelligence, unlike with Earth creatures and brain size; a Gem whose gemstone is no bigger than a fingernail can be just as smart as one with a gemstone the size of a car. However, with the introduction of Pebbles in late season 5, it is reasonably possible that there is an absolute minimum gemstone size as their gemstones are extremely large in proportion to their bodies. The Gemstone does not have the same function throughout it. This is proven by the fact that when a Gem is cracked, her form is not always affected the same way; even cracks that appear to be in the same place or the same severity have different effects, implying that different core features are being damaged. Further, shards often only form certain body parts--when alone, this is usually a limb, but when melded together into a cluster an assortment of different parts appear on the form. Theoretically, if the gemstone had the same function throughout, a cluster with enough shards would take on a perfect humanoid shape (albeit with a few messed up proportions), but this is clearly not the case. Thus, it's safe to assume that different parts of the gemstone control different things, much like the human brain. Gems are also confirmed to have DNAhttp://ianjq.tumblr.com/post/113794156834/i-know-that-the-gems-are-sexless-agendered-etc, which is presumably contained within the gemstone. This explains why Gems have specific features in their physical forms, which I will get to in the next section. So, based on this, I have constructed an idea of what the inside of the gemstone is like and what can be done to the gemstone before it can be considered shattered. To the right is an illustration of the cross-section of a gemstone, color-coded for convenience; in reality, this gemstone would be a solid color all the way through. The golden band around the gemstone represents what I believe to be a natural brace, which might serve to hold the gemstone together in the event that it's broken; evidence from Lapis Lazuli seems to indicate that this band is actually formed by a natural process within the Gem's body rather than being attached artificially, which had not occurred to me when I originally made the illustration. The outermost layer, in red, is plain rock; it serves as a shell protecting the inside, and any bit chipped off of this layer probably won't project a physical form of its own like most shards would. Everything below the outer layer can glow to project a form, and can be used to process information. The area colored in purple will only produce arms or legs when splintered off. The area colored in blue is where memories are stored. They're written from the inside out, much like on a disk or a hard drive; this means there's much less risk of losing memories from an injury or crack. The memory layer varies in size, and in an especially old and wise Gem it could theoretically extend all the way to the outer shell. The layer in the center, colored in cyan, is the core. It's where all the DNA is stored. It contains all of this Gem's instincts, all the default attributes of her physical form, and everything she was made to do. It also serves as the core processing center for the Gem, though to be able to think much beyond her instincts she would need the entire gemstone to be intact. If you were to cut this out of the gemstone, while the Gem who forms from the core alone wouldn't really have much thought or personality and would likely have a horrible dim mess of writhing body parts for a physical form, she would know what she was made to do and would still attempt to do it. A Gem who's been cracked isn't generally considered to be shattered unless the core is broken. The exact location of the layers would be in the center on most Gems; however, we've seen Gems in the show like Bismuth who have abnormal gemstone shapes, and the location of the core would be harder to pinpoint. Logically though, it would still be located within the thickest or sturdiest portion of the gemstone. With all this in mind, it's likely that it's possible to re-cut a younger Gem to a different shape at the cost of the protective shell of plain rock, but I personally would not recommend doing this. I consider this entire section's canon status to be highly probable as of Your Mother And Mine, where round grooves on the inside of a broken gemstone that should have had perfect cleavage seems to indicate the presence of a core-like internal structure. The Physical Form The physical form of a Gem is more than just a model or a hologram shaped like a human. Made up entirely of crystallized light, the physical form has its own distinct anatomy that only happens to resemble the human body. The light of the physical form is projected entirely from the gemstone. The features of the form are hard-coded within a Gem's DNA, which is why it comes out the same every time unless the Gem makes an effort to change it. When destroyed, the physical form appears to explode into dust before evaporating. This is because the crystallized light that makes it up is shattered, but it remains solid just long enough to create dust particles before becoming ordinary light and dissipating as such. The physical form is naturally capable of producing various fluids which are analogous to ones formed by humans. All gems have tears, sweat, and saliva; in Diamonds, these are specialized for healing and possibly reproductive purposes. Nephrite saliva is known to be highly corrosive, so it is likely that there are other gems that have special traits within these fluids as well. Water-winged gems, such as Lapises and Aquamarines, can create wings made out of water, which in a dry environment or the vacuum of space could possibly be pulled from their sweat or another fluid totally unique to them. At least some Gems are apparently capable of bleeding, but it is not shown often enough to actually determine if that's what it is due to Steven Universe being a kids' show; what is known for certain, however, is that corrupted gems apparently do not have blood. Layers When a Gem regenerates, her appearance forms in three stages (or four, depending on how you count it). Mannequin The first thing to form is a structure comparable to a poseable doll. Referred to as the Gem's mannequin, this serves pretty much the same purpose as a human's skeleton--it defines the shape and structure of the Gem's body and defines all the major joints. It has two layers, the rod-like "bone" itself and the muscles. The "bones" are likely easily felt through the skin and muscle in certain areas such as the elbows and knees. Most of the shape and bulk in a Gem's form comes from the muscle layer. The mannequin of most types of Gem is currently thought to have 45 parts, though sometimes the stomach part is hidden by the chest and pelvic parts which overlap with it, and the 28 carpal parts are not usually distinguishable from a distance--causing some gems to only appear to have 16 or 17 parts. Among humanoid gems, the arrangement and proportions of the parts can be diverse but the exact number of parts does not vary; however, gems such as Comby most likely have a different number due to their unusual anatomy. Skin The skin layer forms after the mannequin. It isn't generally very thick, and it covers the entire body, hiding the places where the different parts of the mannequin meet and creating a smooth appearance. When the skin forms, soft facial features and any changes the Gem has made to her body (such as the addition of organs or breasts) are formed as well. Theoretically, a Gem could have a defect resulting in an unusually thick skin layer, creating the appearance of being fat even if her mannequin isn't very bulky. Since added bulk to the mannequin through mutation and such are unlikely to happen due to the complexity of that part of the form, you can bet that a Gem of a traditionally slender Gem-type (such as a Pearl) who looks overweight or otherwise isn't slender probably has this condition instead. On the other hand, an unusually thin Gem--such as a skinny Quartz--instead likely has a mutation that prevents formation of most of the muscle layer, which is part of the mannequin rather than the skin. When a Gem is corrupted, the regeneration cycle changes before the skin layer finishes forming and the Gem's body changes shape and anatomy, usually going against the mannequin. It's speculated that corruption forces a Gem to conform to a second, primal or pre-programmed mannequin, which explains why corrupted gems of the same stone look similar. Clothing and Hair The third stage in regeneration before the form is completed contains all loose and expendable parts, that being clothing and hair. The hair is directly attached to the Gem's body, while the clothes can theoretically be removed but would probably not last long away from the rest of the form. Anything formed in this stage can be removed or damaged without destroying the physical form. At this stage in regeneration, a Gem may cycle through past forms before she finishes, assuming she has any. When a corrupted Gem reforms, this is when details such as horns, spikes, and false gemstones appear. Color After all the Gem's features have come together, her form crystallizes--that is, it becomes a solid body which reflects light instead of a glowing mass. At this point, all of the Gem's colors are visible and no part of her is still glowing visibly, allowing an observer to view the external appearance of the Gem's form properly. Notably, it appears that some Gems cannot reach this stage and are left in a perpetually glowing state. Other small theories Not everything I have down on this deserves an entire section dedicated to it. * A Gem's form is less durable than the human body. The reason it's so hard to kill a human is because it makes up for our lack of natural defenses; Gems have tons of powers and natural abilities to keep them safe, so they don't need their forms to be quite as durable. ** Likewise, as seen in The Kindergarten Kid, Gems who lack powers, such as Peridots, are more durable to make up for it. * Certain aspects of the gemstone may affect how a Gem presents her form. For example, Amethyst stayed in the ground too long and as such her gemstone might have an overly thick and dense outer layer that refracts the light of her form to make it more compact. There are few other explanations for her stunted growth, considering she spent too much time growing and there is no direct evidence of mutation as of right now. * As homeworld Gems who cannot shapeshift are able to breathe and sigh, it is likely that Gem speech is performed in a similar fashion to human speech and it is highly likely that the mannequin's chest part is at least partially hollow and connects directly to the facial orifices. It is also likely that the Gem mouth has a secondary palate separating the nasal and oral cavities like in humans, as Gems have occasionally been shown eating and talking at the same time. References Category:A to Z Category:Disgustedorite Category:Headcanon Category:Fanon